State police are investigating the shooting last month of two mountain goats that escaped from their pen in Upper Milford Township. The goats broke loose from the pen on Chestnut Street, Route 29, south of Emmaus, between 9 and 10 a.m. Dec. 9, state police at Fogelsville said Thursday. The animals later were found shot, but police did not say whether either goat died. They labeled the crime a case of criminal mischief. The goats' owner is a 49-year-old man. His name was not released.

Former Pen Argyl wrestling champion and 2014 Wilkes University graduate Phil Racciato has been named the new wrestling coach at Pocono Mountain West. Racciato replaces Greg Theony, who had coached the Panthers the past eight seasons. "I believe Phil Racciato will be a great addition to our coaching staff," PMW athletic director Brad Pensyl said. "He has experience at the high school and collegiate level. This experience will assist in helping our athletes compete this winter.

Believe it or not, when our parents were in college they had to use this old-fashioned thing called a pen to take notes from their textbooks. Lucky for our generation, there's the DocuPen from Planon System Solutions. The pen-sized digital scanner picks up words and graphics from a printed page in about 4 seconds. It can store up to 100 pages of scanned text that can be uploaded to your computer with a USB port. It's easy on the hands and saves time. Just don't get caught scan-sharing tests.

A Pen Argyl man who sexually assaulted a 14-year-old student at his family's Korean exchange program saw his sentence reduced Wednesday to 31/2 to seven years after his previous jail term was thrown out at appeal. Richard Kim's resentencing will allow him to become eligible for parole 18 months sooner than his prior five to 10 years of incarceration called for. The new term, which was negotiated between prosecutors and Kim's lawyer, was imposed by Northampton County Judge Michael Koury Jr. at a hearing in which the defendant said he wished to publicly apologize to his victim.

An inmate serving a sentence for manslaughter at the state prison in Frackville is accused of stabbing another inmate in the forehead with a pen. State police at Frackville said Willie J. Daniels, 36, of Philadelphia stabbed Norman L. Hicks, 53, of Gouldsboro about 3 p.m. Friday. Police said Hicks was showering at the time of the attack. Police said they believe Daniels attacked Hicks to be transferred to another prison. Daniels will be charged with aggravated and simple assault.

To the Editor: On Jan. 7, I watched in awe as television coverage of the first day of the President's impeachment trial before the Senate began. It wasn't the trial that caught my attention. Rather, it was the solemn ritual during which each one of the 100 Senators personally stepped forward to sign a book signifying their acceptance of the responsibilities of the oath of service they had just taken. As each senator approached, he or she was handed an individual pen by the clerk of the Senate.

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Michael Stutes might just be the change to the bullpen personnel that pitching coach Rich Dubee was talking about. The 24-year-old right-hander is heading north with the team tonight instead of remaining in Clearwater with most of the other Triple-A guys. "Might wanna stick him in a big league game, let him see Citizens Bank," manager Charlie Manuel said. In 10 IP, Stutes gave up just four hits and one run. He struck out 11 and walked just one. "Good fastball, late life," Manuel said.

To the Editor: I applaud Randall Murray's timely article (Another View, Dec. 22) regarding the ill-conceived placement of the white line on Oxford Drive near Lehigh Street. Last week, the line was moved back allowing sufficient turn space for buses, trucks etc. Now, Randall, use your magic pen to get PennDOT to revise the chaotic traffic flow on Oxford Drive to 31st Street. Impatient drivers completely ignore the concrete divider installed by PennDOT and drive over it to gain access to 31st Street.

Koh-I-Noor Rapidograph Inc. of Bloomsbury, N.J., broke ground Wednesday on a 30-acre site in Greenwich Township, Warren County. The first building to be erected will be a 70,000-square foot distribution center to be completed next year. The new distribution center, located one mile west on Route 173 from the company's headquarters, is the first phase of a major Koh-I-Noor expansion program over the next few years, said John Landis, vice president of manufacturing. The center is part of a 140-acre industrial park being developed by Willowdale/Carver Development Corp.

Pen Argyl senior Emily Smull could sense in the third inning of Thursday's PIAA Class 2A quarterfinal that it was likely going to be the final game of the softball season for the Green Knights. "We were making mistakes," Smull said, "and we weren't hitting. It wasn't our day. "Sometimes, the luck runs out and we'd had a string of games where everything went our way. That isn't always going to be the case, and it definitely wasn't the case today. " District 3 champion Susquenita scored a 6-1 win over Pen Argyl at Lyons Field, thanks in part to the five errors committed by the Green Knights and in part to the three-hit pitching performance of Blackhawks senior Rachael Sterner.

Determined to find strength, expertise and efficiencies in numbers, Plainfield Township, Wind Gap and Pen Argyl are creating the Slate Belt Regional Police Department. Each of the three municipalities has its own small police force and the new department expects to hire the full-time officers from all three, officials said. At 7 p.m. Thursday, residents of the municipalities are invited to Weona Park Community Center in Pen Argyl to meet David Mettin, who has been chosen to lead the new department.

Both the Parkland and Bethlehem Catholic softball programs remember June 12, 2009, well. That was the day that both teams played at Shippenburg's Robb Field for state softball championships. The Trojans defeated Shaler 5-1 in the morning for 4A gold, while the Golden Hawks dropped a heartbreaker to Greencastle-Antrim 1-0 in nine innings in the 3A finals. When the state tournament began that year, neither Parkland nor Becahi figured it would be playing on the last day of the season.

The end is in sight. Emily Smull knows it, accepts it and even embraces it. With the completion of her scholastic softball career a possibility on Thursday, Pen Argyl's senior standout came through with one of the finest performances of her four years in the District 11 Class 2A championship game against rival Catasauqua. Smull went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and was the winning pitcher in the Green Knights' 13-4 triumph at Patriots Park in Allentown. Pen Argyl (19-5), which also knocked off Catasauqua in last year's district final, advances to Monday's PIAA first-round state playoff game against the District 1 champion.

A Pen Argyl man was charged Saturday with trespassing at Anthony Dally & Sons Quarry in Plainfield Township. Edward A. Eckert, 40, of 290 E St., Pen Argyl, entered the property around 1:30 p.m. and set off an alarm, police said. He was cited at the scene.

A Pen Argyl man was charged with corruption of a minor and furnishing alcohol to a minor after an incident in the Lehigh Gorge Campground in East Side Borough in April 1998. Duane Michael Ninno, 47, was cited for giving a boy -- then 17 years old -- tequila. He also was cited for engaging in sexual contact with the boy. Ninno was arraigned before District Justice Paul Hadzick in Weatherly and posted bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 26 before Hadzick.

A Pen Argyl Area School District parent claims her son was verbally and physically assaulted by a Wind Gap Middle School custodian, and as a result the traumatized boy missed much of the second half of the school year. Jean Marie Yurkovitch spoke during Tuesday night's school board meeting and said the situation arose in March with what started as "friendly bantering" between her son and the custodian. At the time, Yurkovitch said, her son was in sixth grade. Yurkovitch said the day after her son had gotten a haircut, the custodian approached him, told him he looked like "a queer with ears," and put the boy in a headlock.

Zach Luke wanted his final pitch of the afternoon down in the strike zone. He elevated it instead, allowing Pen Argyl second baseman Devin Messerschmidt to drive it toward left-center field. Notre Dame-Green Pond left fielder Charlie Barebo sprinted to his left to reach Messerschmidt's liner in plenty of time. The path Barebo took forced him to leap to put his glove on the ball. The Crusaders continued jumping after Barebo's game-ending catch. The play secured a 2-1 win at Coca-Cola Park, giving top seed Notre Dame the District 11 Class 2A baseball title Wednesday afternoon.